＜Inside N. Korea＞Thirty years after his death, memorial services for Kim Il-sung have become simpler …Ryanggang Provinces ban drinking for just one day

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Kim Il-sung's death. On July 8, Kim Jong-un led a large group of regime officials to visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where Kim Il-sung's body rests, according to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency. He also attended a memorial concert at the Samjiyon Theater in downtown Pyongyang and the 30th anniversary central memorial meeting at Kim Il Sung Square. (KANG Ji-won / ISHIMARU Jiro)

According to state media, the memorial ceremony in Pyongyang was relatively large and formal given that it was the 30th anniversary of his death. Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jung, a Workers’ Party official, attended in black. Kim Jong-un’s wife, Ri Sol-ju, and his daughter, reportedly named “Ju-ae,” were nowhere to be seen.

◆ Ryanggang Province memorial service lasts just a day

Meanwhile, in provincial cities, memorial services were streamlined. An ASIAPRESS reporting partner in the northern province of Ryanggang had this to say about this year's memorial events:

“On July 7, students cleaned the statue of Kim Il-sung in groups, and a memorial performance was held for cadres. On July 8, the women’s league and workplaces went to offer bouquets of flowers (to the statue) at 9 a.m., and at 10 a.m., they held a movie literature study session. The session concerned Kim Il-sung's revolutionary activities and focused on increasing praise of Kim Jong-un. That was the only memorial event this year.”

Women's league: Shorthand for the Socialist Women's Union of Korea. It is largely made up of housewives who have no formal workplace.

In previous years, the mourning period was spread over several days and alcohol consumption was strictly prohibited. This year, however, the services lasted only one day on July 8 and the government did not enact any particular controls on the population.

※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.